


Could We Pretend That We're in Love?

by Inthelittledoctor



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Accidental Marriage, F/M, First Kiss, Love Confession, alien overtaking, just the Doctor and Clara Oswald, kind of, originally for a challenge, procrastinated for too long, saving races and being a couple without even knowing it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-29 15:25:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7689853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inthelittledoctor/pseuds/Inthelittledoctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They'd been misken as husband and wife so many times, but this time was a little different. After saving an alien race from being overtaken, the Doctor and Clara find themselves in the middle of a ritual. Turns out the ritual was more of a wedding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Could We Pretend That We're in Love?

The first time she'd been mistaken as his wife had come as a shock. It had been right after their second chance together, and the both of them had corrected the mistaken individual profusely, saying that they were nothing more than friends. She brushed it off as nothing, just a simple mistake. 

The second time was more understandable. They were at a market and she had snuck up behind him, wrapping her arms around him and peeking through the space between his arm and torso. He was looking at jewellery. This time around it was fairly obvious as to why the observer thought what they did. A man looking at jewellery with a woman clinging to him. It did seem like something a husband and wife would do. She began to question why they acted like they did in public. 

The third time it was her fault. He'd bought her a ring that would emit a force shield if she were in a life threatening situation, and she'd stupidly worn it to work. He came to pick her up later that day, waiting for her in the teacher's lounge, only to discover that more people than just her hung out in the teacher's lounge during lunch hour. She'd hugged him. Everyone in the room began asking about the wedding. She wondered if there was more to their relationship than she'd thought. 

The fourth time, well, is a little bit more complicated than the times before. It'd started out as any other adventure would for them: with a problem. An alien overtaking, to be more exact. So there they were, the Doctor and Clara Oswald, standing in the middle of it all, neither of them having any clue of what to do, yet still winning in the end. They always win. 

She recalled the faces of the scaly invaders as they were given one final warning to leave while stepped over one of their bodies on the way back to the village. The Doctor wasn't far behind her, the sound of his boots crunching beneath him reminding her of the way the scales of the aliens had cracked as they were attacked. He caught up to her, giving her a quick glance before he slid his hand into hers and squeezing it reassuringly. 

'We did the right thing, Clara. They were going to destroy every last trace of life on this planet,' he stared straight ahead, the look on his face telling her that he didn't quite believe his own words. 

'We could've done something else. Warped them off of this planet or something,' she said weakly. 

'They would've come right back. I'm sorry, Clara, there was no stopping this. If we had tried anything else we would have just been delaying the inevitable.'

She could see the village ahead of them, the occupants celebrating, lights shining and laugher ringing out. A sigh escaped her lips and she looked down at the ground in front of her, her pace slowing. She didn't want to face what was ahead. A village celebrating massacre. What kind of a celebration was that? It didn't seem right. 

He, on the other hand, seemed giddy, excited even. They'd just killed off an entire race. Men and children alike, and he had the audacity to be happy. People were saved, he would reason, innocent lives. Lives were taken away, she would argue, why does it always have to end like this. She never voiced her arguments, for they were just muffled screams in the back of her head that she learned to ignore. They still managed to get to her on some level, no doubt. As she felt her feet come into contact with stone, she felt a tremor of guilt run through her. 

'Doctor, I can't do this,' she murmured, looking up at him with wide doe eyes. 

He gave her a small smile and directed his gaze to her, giving her a soft smile,' If we just do what they ask of us, then we can leave. It's just a little innocent fun. We saved them, Clara, they want us to know that they appreciate it.'

She huffed and pulled her hand away from his, stomping towards the clutter of natives and leaving him behind. He sighed and shoved his hands in pockets as he watched her stomp ahead. As soon as she was where she needed to be, she was attacked by the hugs of small children and cup that almost resembled a chalice was thrusted upon her. The Doctor joins her side promptly and took a chalice of his own. He pulled his sunglasses out of his pocket and placed them on the bridge of his nose, quickly scanning the drink before shrugging and taking a sip. She had decided to follow his example and took a sip of her own drink, taking note of the strange texture. Slimy, almost pulpy. 

'You two have the strongest bond we are yet to see. The universe will never be able to tear you apart,' one of the natives had said, presumably the leader judging by their apparel. 

He scoffed at that, maybe because he had been told it too many times before. He humoured them anyway, drinking their drink and holding her hand when he was told to. The natives circled around them and began to sing, a melodic tune in a language she didn't understand. His hand tightened around hers and she looked over at him, being met with a mortified look. Something wasn't right. 

'What's wrong?' She mouthed. 

He didn't justify her with a response and instead dropped her hand as if that was enough of a reply. She had just about had enough of him for that day. The dancing and singing continued on, the two in the middle of it all continuing to sip at their drinks and look anywhere but at the other. The natives stopped when the chalices were empty and took them from the couple. The leader announced that the ceremony was done and they could leave whenever they pleased. 

She asked him about what the ceremony was for when the natives had departed. He incoherently grumbled something and shoved his hands in his pockets, looking down at his feet. She gave up. He'd tell her if he needed to. 

'C'mon, let's go back to the TARDIS,' she urged, tugging on his arm. He begrudgingly followed her. 

Once inside, she dropped his hand and gave him a small smile, her teeth shining through. She bounced back to the console and placed her hands behind her on the edge. He took small steps towards her, avoiding eye contact, his hands in his pockets. 

Clara beamed at him,'So, where're we off to ne-'

'We're married,' he said solemnly. 

She froze. Her eyes took on a murderous look,'I'm sorry, what?'

'What just happened was a coupling ceremony.'

She blinked, then breathed out a laugh. 'So you're my space husband now?' 

He huffed, grumbling,'You can't just put space in front of everything, Clara.'

'Oh, but I can, space husband,' she teased. 

It was now that she realised they weren't even a step away from each other, the scent of him filling her lungs. She could hardly breathe, even though all she wanted to do is get high off of his scent. She glanced down at his lips, her tongue darting out to wet her own as she wondered what he would taste like. 

'I'm not made of space Clara, I can't be a space husband,' he complained. 

Her eyes widened slightly as she got pulled out of her thoughts. She needed to think of a comeback or else he would notice that something was wrong. Although, if she were being honest, something was wrong. She had just taken part in a consentless marriage ceremony, and now she was married to an alien that was over two thousand years older than her. She loved him, of course, but they hadn't kissed, much less been in a relationship. Marriage didn't really seem like the logical first step. 

'Can we get our marriage annulled?' She asked, looking over his shoulder. 

He shook his head, expression grim,'I'm sorry Clara, once a couple is bonded, they're bonded for life.'

Clara sighed, her hands fell from the console and a small frown made its way to her lips. So she was stuck with him. 'Til death do us part, as people would say.

'What do we do now?' She questioned quietly. 

'What we always do,' he replied, a small smile gracing his lips,'The Doctor and Clara in the TARDIS, saving the universe. As it should be.'

She looked up at him and smiled sweetly, echoing in agreement,'As it should be.'

He laughed lightly and reached for her hand, enveloping it in his. Their eyes lock. Without thinking, she leant up and brushed her lips against his. She pulled away with a sheepish smile and continued to look at him with bright eyes. He stood there looking a little taken aback, lips parted. He dropped her hand and strode over to the console next to her, pressing buttons to seem busy. 

'I think we've had a full trip of adventuring. How about I take you back to your flat?' He asked, uninteresting. 

She placed her hand back on the console and let her head drop, sighing. 'Yeah, sure,' She breathed out, emotionless. 

A quick piloting of the TARDIS later and they were at her flat, Clara pushing herself off of the console. 'See you next Wednesday,' she said on her way to the door. 

'Clara, wait,' he stepped up to her, grabbing her wrist to stop her from leaving. 

'What do you want?' She questioned angrily, tears in her eyes. 

'I want you to be happy!' He said loudly, grip on her wrist tightening. 

'Don't you bloody tell me that you want me to be happy,' she said,'You've never cared about me or my bloody emotions.' 

'Clara,' he groaned, pulling on her wrist,'I care about you.' His other hand came to rest on her cheek and he crashed his lips against hers, kissing her like his life depended on it. Her lips responded to his almost instantly, her hands grabbing his lapels and pulling him closer to her. The kiss deepened quickly, her teeth scraping against his and tongues being introduced. 

She pulled away after what seemed like an eternity, feeling a loss as she does so. She laughed and tugged on his lapels, resting her forehead on his chest. His arm wrapped around her waist and he held her close. 

'I care about you too, husband,' she teased. 

He grunted above her, obviously still a little upset about their accidental marriage. He'd come around, he always did. She grinned. She had never been more in love with him.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I haven't published in so long, hopefully I'll be more active. For those of you who read Don't Leave Me Here Alone, I've finished the next chapter and I'll be publishing that soon. If you enjoyed, leave a kudos and comments are always appreciated and encourage me to write more!


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